AKA FarFri - KyoAni Ed.

Fanart Friday returns, finishing shows left and right--in the past week I've (finally) finished Bakemonogatari, Tonari no Seki-kun (probably my favorite recent show), and Witch Craft Works! Last week, we took a look at my favorite video game franchise of all time--Street Fighter--but this week, we're taking a trip through the library of KYOTO ANIMATION, or KyoAni for short!

A relatively new animation studio with a comparitively small library (at least, compared to Madhouse and Bones), Kyoto Animation has an exceptionally good track record. They've done 15 TV anime (2 upcoming), 2 OVAs, 5 ONAs, and 5 theatrical features, but you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who genuinely hates their work. Some (like me) aren't the biggest KyoAni fans, but it's hard to deny the ridiculous level of quality and shine their work has. Let's get started!

Before we get to KyoAni's original work, it's important to mention that they've put their considerable talent into other studios' shows, like the ridiculous Nurse Witch Komugi. Finally, I too can become an anime character.

The second is Kanon, and holy freaking crap it is hard to find art for this that won't get me fired. Seriously, "Sort by Popularity" in Pixiv has like five pages of straight-up boobs. I mean, I love Akiko too, but damn. Also, Kanon is the home of that whole "uguu" thing. Ugh.

Like I mentioned before, I've been powering through shows lately, and one of them has been the first season of Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions, which is funny as hell despite my general aversion to slice-of-life shows. More on Yuta and how he's the best ever later.

I've probably mentioned this before, but Lucky Star was the perfect follow-up show to Gurren Lagann back when they both came out. I'd be all crazy-GTA pumped after watching Gurren Lagann, and then Lucky Star talking about the proper way to eat a chocolate pastry brought me back down to socially-acceptable levels.

K-ON!, on the other hand... man. I don't care how many of you I piss off by saying this, but I was expecting Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad. I was all "oh cool, she bought a guitar and it's gonna be about learning to play and starting a band and NOPE, it's about cute girls doing cute things and eating cake. F**k this show." Great soundtrack, though.

Tamako Market is one of the recent KyoAni shows I've just plain missed out on, and it (along with Hyouka) are on the I-will-definitely-watch-this-later list (which I've been plugging away at in earnest)!

Hey, this isn't a KyoAni series, Generator Gawl is a (great) Tatsunoko Production show! Actually, it's here because KyoAni helped with animation duties, and mainly because I never get to use art of Generator Gawl.

As you probably guessed from my general tone throughout Plain as Folk Edition, lead characters with basic designs need to really stand out for me to take notice. However, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions' Yuta is perfect--he's plain, yeah, but I love how he constantly tries to repress the overwhelming dorkiness of his middle school self.

The guy who works across from me in the Crunchyroll office is a badass looking dude with sleeve tats who looks like he can kick the shit out of me even though I have a solid hundred pounds on him, I can comfortably bench-press his body weight, and I've fought full-contact. He's also a gigantic fan of My Ordinary Life, which makes me want to watch it even more. Although, judging by his descrptions, this isn't what the show seems like.

My usual rule is "if it doesn't look like Fist of the North Star or involves little sisters and/or moeblobs, you really have to sell it to me," but Tamako Market looks so darn cute and refreshingly inoffensive that I can't help but love everything I see for it.

I didn't need any selling for Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid, which is--as far as I know--the only straight-up serious action show in all of KyoAni's library. Other shows have action, to be sure, but few are as grim and brutal as The Second Raid, especially compared to previous FMP! seasons.

I dunno, Hyouka just sounds cool. It's a mystery series, but more down-to-Earth and focused on the kinds of mysteries that teenagers might actually run into, instead of a steady string of hilariously creative murders.

WAIT BUT THIS IS A SUNRISE SHOW! Yes, yes it is--and just like with Generator Gawl and Nurse Witch Komugi, KyoAni lent their considerable talents to make Inuyasha a really, really gorgeous show. No really, put your annoyance with all the other things it does wrong aside for a minute--Inuyasha had some really nice animation.

Or is it just the nice, homey feeling you get from the day-to-day lives of characters you actually like? It says something when an animation studio puts just as much love and care into a scene of characters eating as they do a scene of a big concert or intense battle sequence. Thanks, KyoAni--you guys rock.

And that's everything for this week--short and sweet, just like a KyoAni title! I know there was at least one or two KyoAni shows I missed, but I got almost all of 'em--what's your favorite Kyoto Animation title? Sound off in the comments and let us know!

Like I say every week, your work is always welcome here on Fanart Friday, regardless of your skill level or experience. Just PM me a link to your work, and I'll be sure to include it in a future installment! Here are the next three themes for Fanart Friday:

-Next week, on JUNE 20th, we're slathering on the sunscreen for some SUMMER fun! No particular titles are necessary, but what characters do you want to see having fun in the sun? THIS IS THE ONLY THEME I'M TAKING REQUESTS FOR THIS WEEK!

-Then, on JUNE 27th, it's back to the voice actor well with TOMOKAZU SEKI! From hot-blooded hardasses to bishounen that make the fans swoon, he's done it all!

-On JULY 4th, we celebrate Independence Day like the Founding Fathers (probably) would--with REVOLUTIONARIES! These characters are almost always underdogs, and that's why we like 'em!

Thanks again for coming by to check out Fanart Friday! Have a great weekend, and we hope you drop by again next time!